Last week, the blog took a look at how government policies could shape a market such as that for linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). The scenarios analysed uncovered a major point: A major upsurge in demand above the 2.24m tonnes base case for 2025 jeopardises operations for disadvantaged LLDPE plants globally. However, the demand for […]
Chemical Connections
How policies could shape LLDPE’s future
There should be little doubt that government policies across the globe will play a critical role in stimulating, rebuilding and reshaping economies staggering from the damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, which came at the time most were pushing forward with burgeoning sustainability and circularity efforts. Whether through ambitious “new deal” kinds of programmes, hands-off, […]
Chemical market whack-a-mole
Anyone ever play whack-a-mole? The image here comes from the 1990s, a time of ill-fitting T-shirts and no smartphones, so entertainment came from games such as whack-a-mole that sprung up (literally) to test our hand-eye coordination as well as our ability to deal with a new problem cropping up just as soon as we had […]
Decoupling talk is decoupled from reality
It was supposed to be a harmless press conference honouring the US Labor Day holiday, but President Donald Trump made a statement about possible changes in the US-China relationship that if implemented would have substantial implications for chemical markets. In vowing to bolster US manufacturing by reshoring jobs from China should he be elected to […]
The US economy’s hall of mirrors
The US economic recovery from pandemic-induced shutdowns is about as disjointed an endeavour as I can recall. Recent data releases and surveys paint a quite jumbled picture. Take this week’s Beige Book release from the Federal Reserve, which distils inputs from regional Reserve bank surveys into the following summation: Employment – Up overall since falling […]
When feedstock price isn’t the loudest voice in the room
The question came over innocuously enough. “Market prices for ethylene are structurally the highest in Europe and lowest in US with Asia moving in between. … For MEG, however, my understanding is that there is not such a high difference between market prices in US and EU. What is the reason for that? Main cost […]
Consumers will experience better days, and with newer clothes
Most of the statistics bantered about right now are coronavirus-related, which means they are monotonous at best and heartbreaking at worst. Even New Zealand, which stood out as an example of how to handle the crisis, celebrated 100 days of no reported infections only to have four spring up a few days later, which spurred […]
With so much hanging in the balance, let data light the way
The fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020 is the most consequential quarter in generations. It feels like hyperbole to type and sounds just as sensationalistic when said aloud, but not since Q4 1941, when the bombing of Pearl Harbor changed the US’ relationship with the rest of the globe for the next 80 years, has there […]
Pandemic creating baby booms and busts – and challenges for the supply chain
The coronavirus pandemic is amplifying birth rate trends in many parts of the world, creating via procreation (or lack thereof) challenges and opportunities to the supply chains that serve families. Data points to increases in countries such as India and Indonesia, where birth rates already were high. Meanwhile, in Europe and the US, where birth […]
No time to waste in solving ocean plastic dilemma
It feels like we could all use some good news, so how about this: We already have the capabilities to reduce ocean plastic waste by about 80% by 2040. That jolt of positivity comes from Breaking the Plastic Wave, a newly issued report by The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ and thought partners – the […]
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